Santa Drama
by sunshineleo
Summary: This is a short, one-off inspired by the festivity of the season. It is set in my Lumos Universe, and it follows From Mother to Daughter. Keith and Allura are married; he is King and she is Queen. They have a one-year-old daughter named Tatiana. It is Christmas time on Arus. A holiday family outing soon turns chaotic. Happy Holidays! Rated K.


A/N

This is a short, one-off inspired by the festivity of the season. I didn't have a Christmas inspired fic, so I decided I needed to remedy that.

This little gem is set in my Lumos Universe, and it follows _From Mother to Daughter._Keith and Allura are married; he is King and she is Queen. They have a one-year-old daughter named Tatiana. It is Christmas time on Arus, and a year of many firsts for little Tatiana. This is loosely based on real events.

I wish you a blessed holiday season, no matter what you celebrate. C and C are welcome. Reviews are encouraged.

Rated K

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Voltron.

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><p>Santa Drama<p>

Sitting in the glow of the twinkling white lights of the Christmas tree, the Queen of Arus let out an epic sigh of pure exhaustion. It had been a long and trying day, and much of the chaos and drama had revolved around Princess Tatiana, now sleeping peacefully next to her mother on the plush couch in the living room of the royal apartments. Letting her eyes caress the image of her daughter, Allura mused at how peaceful and content the baby looked in her slumber. Clad in pink flannel pajamas with ruffles edging the neckline and sleeves, the one-year-old lay on her back, a pink crocheted blanket tucked firmly around her waist. One arm lay draped across her tummy; the other cupped her cheek.

The little princess was the perfect combination of her mother and father. Tatiana had a sweet, cherub-like face with large brown eyes, a tiny pug nose, and pink bow lips. At the moment, those bright, intelligent amber brown eyes were hidden behind closed lids. Long blond eyelashes fanned out against her round pink cheeks, creating shadows on her face that danced in the flickering light. Unable to stop herself, Allura ran a hand along the forehead of her little girl. Her long elegant fingers tangled in the golden curls that were just now starting to grow long enough to style and trim with bows, ribbons, and barrettes. The baby sighed in her sleep, but did not awaken. The Queen smiled to herself in amazement at how pretty her little girl was. The little princess's beauty and serenity rivaled that of any doll.

Such was not the case a mere three hours earlier when the little princess suffered from a royal meltdown that could have rivaled one of Zarkon's temper tantrums. Frowning in disappointment, Allura furrowed her brow over their missed opportunity caused by the epic tantrum and quick exit back to the Castle of Lions.

The local village of Almar held their annual Christmas bazaar, and the mayor and the town council invited the King and Queen to attend. Thinking it was a perfect opportunity to show off Tatiana, the queen didn't hesitate to accept. Though Keith at first wasn't sure about exposing his daughter to the public, Allura managed to convince her husband when she learned that both Arusian and Terran Christmas traditions would be recognized at the festival. Accepting their Terran-born king years before when he was just the commander of the Voltron Force and the savior of Planet Arus, the Arusian people went out of their way to make Keith feel at home, adding Santa Claus, the Christmas tree, and eggnog to an already long list of holiday traditions. Making a strong point to the king, Allura argued that it would be a perfect way to expose Tatiana to the culture and holiday traditions of both of her parents.

The king begrudgingly agreed, but then became enthusiastic about the holiday family outing when he found out that Santa Claus would be there, and he would be greeting and posing for pictures with the local children. Allura and Keith wanted little Tatiana to get her picture taken with Santa Claus. Having not had the opportunity herself as a little girl, the queen wished to give her daughter every experience and opportunity that she never had. Besides, Uncle Kurt had just sent the little princess an almost thirty-year-old picture of a certain black haired, black-eyed little boy sitting on Santa's lap, his face red as he screamed in terror and reached for his unseen mother standing somewhere behind the photographer. Appealing to her husband's sense of tradition, Allura loved the idea of putting both snapshots in a frame, father and daughter.

The day of the festival arrived. Allura dressed Tatiana in a red velvet dress trimmed in satin ribbon. With white tights on her legs and shiny black patent leather shoes on her feet, the little girl looked like a Christmas doll. Used to being dressed up for court and royal events, the toddler didn't bat an eye at her holiday finery. She took it in stride and babbled and gurgled as her parents pushed her around the festival in her little pink pram, the royal guard following closely behind.

Tatiana stared slack jawed at the gigantic, ornately-decorated Christmas tree in the town square. She giggled at the "elves" as they danced and flipped to the festive music sung by the group of costumed carolers. She clapped her hands to fun holiday favorites such as _Rudolph_ and _Frosty_ and _Deck the Halls._ Keith and Allura smiled at the happiness and delight reflected in their daughter's bright eyes and infectious giggles.

Just before the royal couple decided to head back to the Castle of Lions with their security detail, news floated among the crowd that Santa Claus would soon be appearing. Hoping to blend in as much as possible with the other holiday party goers, Keith and Allura stood in line with Tatiana near the entrance to the gazebo in the Almar town square. The gazebo had been transformed into a make shift Santa's workshop, complete with a Christmas tree and wrapped presents scattered around. A wooden bench had been set up in the middle of the gazebo, with faux reindeer and a sleigh that Santa would use to return to the North Pole at the end of the festival. It was a festive backdrop and would make for a darling picture.

A huge roar went up from the crowd just as Santa Claus appeared. Children began chanting, "Santa, Santa, Santa" as the parents and grandparents clapped and cheered. Keith and Allura shared a small smile when they looked at their daughter to see a look of slack jawed awe on her little face. The little princess had stopped smiling and twisted her body every which way to see what all the commotion was about.

The Arusian Santa Clause looked very much like the one from Terran lore with a long white beard and a sack of presents on his back. His outfit, however, was a long black robe, the crest of the Royal House of Arus emblazoned on his chest. On his head was a crown of thorns representing the crown of Christ, another tradition that had been brought from Terra a millennium ago.

As the Santa Claus made his way through the crowd and stopped at the gazebo, he turned and faced the crowd. With a reverent voice, he began to speak in traditional Arusian. "Welcome one and all to the Almarian Christmas Festival! It is with great honor that I am here tonight. I look forward to greeting you and your children before we ring the bell to officially welcome the Christmas season on Planet Arus."

Slowly, the line in which Keith and Allura stood inched forward. Worrying that Tatiana would soon get cranky, Allura placed the little girl on the ground and allowed her to toddle around and interact with the other children and people near them in line. Charming everyone around her, the little princess played a "you can't catch me" game with her parents. When the little girl wandered a little too far for her daddy's comfort, a quick pick up and one hundred eighty degree turn soon had her going back in the right direction toward her mother's waiting arms.

Half an hour later and chilled to their bones, it was finally Princess Tatiana's turn to see Santa. Allura picked the toddler up, straightened her dress, and ran a hand down her hair to smooth away the fly-aways. The little girl beamed at her mother, her amber eyes gleaming in the low light. Allura hugged the child excitedly, knowing that this picture would be an amazing Christmas keepsake. Carrying Tatiana so she faced her daddy where he stood ready to snap the picture, Allura gently placed Tatiana onto Santa's lap and took a step back, beaming with nostalgia and pride.

The next events unfolded in slow motion. The smile that had been splayed across Tatiana's face suddenly vanished as her mother slowly backed away. Replaced with a look of confusion, the little princess turned her head to see who held her in his arms. Looking into twinkling blue eyes and a smile hidden behind a snowy white beard, Tatiana widened her eyes in terror. Almost immediately, her nostrils flared, and her lips began to tremble. Taking a deep breath, the little princess let out a shrill shriek of horror. "Mama!" she screamed. "Mama! Mama! Mama!" Reaching for her mother, Tatiana began to fuss and wiggle as she struggled to get away from the strange man holding her.

Forgetting about the picture, the queen stood frozen as she watched her baby turn from a happy holiday doll to a screaming banshee in the matter of seconds. The screams quickly shook Allura from her reverie because she immediately reached for her daughter and pulled her into the safety of her arms. Tatiana shook with fear; the little girl trembled uncontrollably and clung to her mother's coat. With an apologetic and embarrassed look on her beautifully regal face, Allura smiled at the Santa Claus and mumbled, "I am so sorry" under her breath.

The Santa took the episode totally in stride. Chuckling, he stood and bowed to his monarch. "Your Majesty," he said. "It is a pleasure to have you here at our festival. It is an honor to see you, and it is an even bigger honor to meet and hold our princess." Reaching up, he gently patted the little girl's back as she slowly calmed down. Laying her head on her mother's shoulder, Tatiana only hiccupped in response as crocodile tears rolled down her cheeks. Turning back to Allura, he winked mischievously at the queen. "She won't be the only bit of Santa Drama we have this night." With another slight bow, he returned to his seat and prepared to greet the next child.

Slightly embarrassed, the King and Queen noticed many people staring in their direction and heard muffled whispers as they passed. Deciding to call it a night, they left shortly after Tatiana's meltdown. The little girl was emotionally exhausted and fell asleep as soon as her little body hit the car seat strapped into the royal carriage. Keith didn't say much on the way home. He simply smiled at his daughter with a knowing smirk on his face as he snuggled next to his wife for the ride back to the castle.

Allura smiled to herself in spite of all the drama as she picked up Tatiana from her spot on the couch. It was a fun, if not traumatic, night for the little girl. It was somewhat traumatic for Keith and Allura. Sighing in disappointment, Allura just really regretted not getting their Santa picture. Walking to the nursery, the young mother gently laid her daughter into her crib and tucked the blanket around her tiny frame. With a gentle kiss to the forehead, Allura crept out of the room and back into the sitting room. She was surprised to see her husband standing there, gazing out across the lake where Black Lion stood like a proud sentinel.

"I thought you had work to finish," Allura said to her husband in confusion. She hadn't expected to see him until much later.

Keith turned to face his wife, his hands hiding something behind his back. "I did, I mean, I do, but there was something I wanted to show you," Keith replied quietly. Moving the object from behind his back, he placed a large picture frame into Allura's hands.

The queen gasped in shock and happiness when she saw what was encased in the frame. Side by side were two pictures, one thirty years old, one merely hours old. In both pictures, a child of no more than one sat on Santa's lap. The picture on the left showed a red suited Santa holding a small black haired little boy. The picture on the right showed a black robed Santa holding a red-velvet clad blond little girl. But the expressions on the faces of the children were identical. Father and daughter looked very much the same as they screamed in terror at Santa Claus. Allura's shocked eyes snapped to meet her husband's laughing black orbs. "You were able to get a picture?" she squeaked, clutching a hand to her chest. "I forgot all about it when Tatiana freaked out, and then I figured we missed our opportunity."

The king chuckled. "Barely," he admitted. "She no sooner started screaming, and then there was Mommy, swooping in to rescue her little girl. I got it just before you grabbed her from Santa."

Allura threw herself into her husband's arms. "Thank you," she whispered. "I love this." Extricating herself from her husband's embrace, she gazed at the picture again and then into the shining eyes of the man who was her husband, the father of her daughter, the love of her life. "And I love you," she finally finished.

"I love you, too," he replied, running calloused hand down her smooth cheek. "Merry Christmas!" He pulled his wife into his arms.

"Merry Christmas!" she responded, glad that the Santa Drama had been worth it.


End file.
